Into Enemy Hands
by caius julius
Summary: A daring move of Zaarin's leaves Thrawn in a dangerous and possibly fatal position... (I've removed chapters 9-11 to the sequel "Aftermath")
1. The Betrayal

Ok, this is it, my first attempt at a FFN-fiction.  
  
Since I got my first computer TIE Fighter has been my favorite computer game.  
Even if it's somewhat outdated now, I still like it very much.  
Even the more since you can play the Empire! (He, he.)  
And I liked the thought of a renegat trying to overthrow Palpatine.  
  
After I read a (never finished) story of some other SW-fan about Thrawn  
beeing captured by Zaarin (the TIE fighter-renegat) I searched my files  
for my own old thoughts about that subject.  
What I found was a rough story-outlay. I started to write a full-grown  
story out of it and this is what came out (and is still coming, I'm  
not finished, yet.)  
  
  
I've read Star Wars and Harry Potter stories on this site for some time now  
and have noticed that -compared to HP- the SW-fans do not really like to  
review a lot.  
However, I hope to get at least ONE person to review this story, even if  
he/she tells me to stop... (which I hope will not be the case but I'm open  
for any constructive and useful criticism!)  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
As you well know, George Lucas has invented the whole SW-universe or allowed  
others to invent parts of it.   
(Thrawn and Parck belong to Timothy Zahn, Zaarin to LucasArts.)  
I did not make any money out of this. (I'd like to but that's not the question.)  
  
  
All right, here comes the first part!  
  
  
  
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"  
  
From Caius Iulius  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
The imperial Star Destroyer "Grey Wolf" had just come out of hyperspace and  
began launching TIE-fighters. Those were ment as standard patrols, for the  
ship had only ours before driven a minor fleet of Zaarin's forces out of the  
Wega-sytem.  
  
The former Grand Admiral Zaarin had dared an unsuccessful coup-de-tat against  
Emperor Palpatine month ago and since then had posed a major threat to the Empire-  
at least here in the Outer Rim territories.  
He had managed to destroy most of the Empire's TIE-Defender space yards; the effective  
star fighter was now no longer available for Palpatine's loyal forces.  
  
Only when Admiral Thrawn had been ordered to hunt down the renegat, Zaarin had had to  
slow down. It was becomming harder for him to hurt the Empire with surprise assaults.  
  
As a reward for his efforts, Thrawn had been promoted to Grand Admiral.  
Now he was standing at the "Grey Wolf"'s main bridge view port and gazed out to  
the distant stars.  
The arrival of Voss Parck, the "Grey Wolf"'s captain, interrupted his thoughts.  
"The repairs are proceeding as expected, sir. The damage should be repaired  
within the next few days. I don't think we have to return to one of our bases  
to request assistance."  
Thrawn nodded shortly.  
"We cannot risk to withdraw, captain," he said and turned to his captain for the  
first time.  
Parck's face became hard.  
"No, of course not. We must not give Zaarin any advantage. He would undoubtly  
make use of our absence the moment we leave."  
Thrawn gazed once again to the stars.  
"I'm not sure what he is up to next. His last attacks were far to harmless to  
be meant as a real threat. I wonder what he has in mind."  
When Parck remained silent, Thrawn turned to him.  
"Well, I fear we will find out soon enough. Until then the fleet has to be fully  
operational again."  
Parck nodded. "Understood, sir."  
"Excellent," Thrawn said. "I will be in my quarters. Good night!"  
He went along the walkway towards the turbolift while Parck took his place at  
the bridge.  
  
  
Chapter 1: The Betrayal  
  
  
Captain Parck had not promised too much; the repairs were going on well.  
All that was missing now was a sign from Zaarin. But he remained   
-not typical for a man of his character- silent.  
  
Thrawn sat at his desk inside his quarter and read the reports of the various systems  
in this area. He should have been grateful for Zaarin's not showing up,  
but he knew the man better than that. This whole thing had to mean something,  
the question was just: WHAT?  
For hours he had been searching for a hint of Zaarins activities. He studied the  
reports for the tenth time now, without finding anything suspicious.  
It seemed as if Zaarin was gone...  
Tired, he put his face in his hands. It was far after midnight.  
He turned the console off and steped once again to the window.  
  
The com-signal interrupted his thoughts.  
"This is Thrawn," he said, "what is it?"  
"Sir, this is Lt. Commander Bren. One of our TIE-pilots has just returned.  
It seems he has found somthing... interesting. Not much, but it could be an  
evidence of Zaarin's fleet."  
Thrawn said nothing but smiled faintly. Finally, he thought.  
"Sir?" Bren persisted. "I am sorry to disturb you at this hour, but the captain   
said you would want to see this immediately."  
Thrawn turned away from the window.  
"Very well, commander. Where are you?"  
"Hardware store room next to hangar B, sir."  
"Good, tell captain Parck I shall join him there soon. Thrawn out."  
He put the rest of his uniform on and left his quarters towards the turbolift.  
  
He didn't meet anybody. It was alway very quiet during night shifts at those  
times, although there was no "real" night on a star ship of that size, but his crew  
needed a rest badly and thus he had ordered a light shift once a day for as long as the  
repairs proceeded.  
He took the turbolift down to hagar B which was compeltely left now, and went to the  
store room.  
  
Lt. Commander Bren was waiting for him. "Ah, Admiral..."  
Thrawn stopped, frowning.  
"Where's captain Parck?"  
Brens respectful expression turned into a sadistic grin.  
"Well, I hope he is fast asleep in his quarters." Slowly, he took a step towards Thrawn.  
The Grand Admiral's face hardened.  
"I understand..." Instinktivly, he reached for his blaster - nothing. He had left it  
in his rooms.  
Before he could do anything, someone grabbed him from behind. He tried to pull away from  
his unseen attacker but didn' get a chance.  
The man pressed an injector to his throat and Thrawn immediately felt his muscels go  
numb. He knew he was beaten and that knowledge made him almost panic.  
He fell to the floor but the expected unconciousness never came.  
His vision was blurred and he felt someone lifting him.  
They must have given me some sort of paralysator, he thought. He tried to move his  
head to get a better view but his muscels would not respond.  
  
"Come on, guys, move! It's night shift but you never know!"  
Bren indicated the two men who had overpowered Thrawn to hurry up while they  
lifted Thrawn from the floor. They were clad in the black uniforms of  
imperial shuttle pilots.  
  
"You know, you were right, Bren," one of them said, "this stuff was damned fast!  
Our friend here never knew what hit him. He's knocked out!" He laughed.  
"Yes, concisely as ordered." Bren had to admitt. "Now, get him in!"  
The two men did as they were told and lifted Thrawn into a large metal box  
which usually was filled with spare parts.  
Bren grinned gown to his prisoner.  
"Have a nice trip, sir!" he said smiling.  
With a scornful laugh he closed the box and locked it tight.  
"Stalk, please call some of the technicians to help us carrying."  
Stalk did and soon returned with two techs.  
With their help (had they only known what was really in that box) the traitors were   
able to carry the box to one of the shuttles.  
  
When the techs had left, Bren turned again to Stalk.  
"All right. the rest should be easy. I made sure that a shuttle launch is estimated   
at this hour."  
Stalk grinned.  
"Thanks, Bren. I'd like to see the captain's face when he learns Thrawn is no longer  
onboard the "Grey Wolf"."  
"Well, that's something I won't miss!" Bren said with a grin. "Now you must be off!"  
He went down the ramp and was already at the turbolift when the shuttle flew out of  
the hangar into space.  
  
TBC...  
  
  
That's it for now!  
I'm proud if you read this far (all right, I know, it's not THAT far now, but I  
still like the thought that you finished this chapter. Thanks!)  
  
CI 


	2. Meeting Zaarin

Well, I'm back!  
  
Thanks for the kind reviews!  
  
Romashka: You don't expect me to tell if he dies, do you?  
  
SilverWolf: I searched this site for Thrawn-stories and when I had read them all  
I decided to write my own. I'm glad you like it.  
  
  
So much for that!  
Here's part two, the story continues.  
  
Have fun!  
  
  
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"  
  
From Caius Iulius  
  
  
Chapter 2: Meeting Zaarin  
  
  
Like Bren had promised, the Star Destroyer let them jump to lightspeed unbothered.  
Stalk left the controls to his partner Marrel and went to the box.  
Carefully, he opened it as if awaiting their prisoner to jump out of it.  
  
If he had had the strenght, Thrawn would have killed the man with his bare hands,  
but he didn't even managed to move his head to look away.  
At least he could close his eyes.  
He cursed himself for having been so blind. He had walked right into the trap and had been  
overwhelmed him so easily. What was worse was the fact that it had been commander Bren,  
Parck's third officer, had betrayed him. He had trusted him.  
So much for his knowledge of people.  
  
He didn't give a credit for his own life now, but what about the fleet?  
With a traitor like Bren - and Parck knew nothing of it, maybe he would even ask  
Bren to assist in the upcomming events...  
There had to be a way he could warn Parck, the question was just: How?  
  
Finally, the exhaustion got the better of him and he lost conciousness.  
  
Marrel stepped into the cargo hold.  
"How's the admiral?"  
Stalk shrugged.  
"Lost conciousness. Come on, help me with him."  
Together they lifted Thrawn out of his small prison and carried him to the shuttle's  
passanger-area. They tied his hands and feet and returned to the cockpit.  
  
The rest of the flight was very uneventful.  
  
  
  
"Everything ready, Stalk? We're leaving hyperspace." Marrel called some hours later.  
Stalk sat dowm in the co-pilot's seat.  
"Our friend still sleeps save and sound."  
Marrel sneered.  
"The admiral will bring him back to his senses! - Look, we're there!"  
  
Right in front of their shuttle the Nebulon B2 frigate "Shamus" came into view.  
  
  
  
The shuttle landed inside one of the smaller hangars. Four stormtroopers and one  
bridge officer awaited them.  
When the ramp had been lowered, the small welcome party entered the ship.  
  
First Officer Himo Trolls glanced briefly around and noticed the prisoner laying on  
the floor.  
"I assume you were successful?" he asked.  
Stalk couldn't help grinning.  
"Yes, sir! Everything went just fine. Granted, he knew faster than expected what  
was going on but it didn't help him. You can take the package from here on.  
Shall we wake him?"  
Commander Trolls hesitated and shook his head.  
"No, I think the admiral will want to do this himself."  
Marrel nodded. "Understood, sir!"  
"Good," the commander called for the stormtroopers. "Take the prisoner to his cell!"  
He turned back to the pilots.  
"Good work; now we have to get rid of the shuttle. Remember: It has to look like an  
accident."  
  
  
  
Slowly, he regained conciousness. The serum's effect had decreased by now and he was able  
to feel his limbs again. The strong grip with which the stromtroopers next to him held  
his arms told him that only too well.  
"So we meet again, Thrawn," someone said with unconcealed sarcasm.  
Thrawn didn't need to look up; he knew perfectly well who stood before him.  
Zaarin took a step closer to his prisoner.  
"Still too proud, alien? I think you are not aware of your current situation!" the former  
Grand Admiral hissed. And as if to intensify his statement, the stormtroopers pulled his arms  
back brutally. The binders cut deep into his wrists.  
Only then Thrawn looked into Zaarin's eyes.  
"On the contrary, Zaarin," he replied calmly, "you will kill me, of that I have no doubt.  
But it won't help you."  
Obviously, that wasn't what Zaarin had expected. He looked Thrawn over shortly and  
snorted with a sneer.  
"You will understand that I'm not your opinion. But that's something we can discuss in  
a moment. I have to take care of something else first, then you'll have my whole attention."  
He mentioned the stormtroopers and they dragged Thrawn out of the cell, towards the  
interrogation chamber.  
  
When Zaarin entered the room some minutes later he noticed that everything had been prepared  
as he had ordered. Satisfied he looked at Thrawn.  
Someone had bared Thrawn's upper part of the body and had bound him with leather straps   
to the wall. Next to him hovered an interrogation droid, waiting for orders.  
  
"I've been looking forward to this moment for along time," Zaarin muttered to himself  
as he walked towards Thrawn.  
His prisoner scrutinized him with unconcealed disdain.  
"What do you expect from this, Zaarin? You know I won't tell you anything. And as I had  
to learn, you already are in dispose of a very effective source."  
Zaarin gave him a wolfish smile.  
"It would be easy to have you executed. TOO easy, too... quick. As you well know, I used  
to be the head of the Empire's R&D-Department. Research is a hobby of mine. And you are  
therefore a very wellcome test subject. I will take all the time needed to learn how much...  
shall we say vigour... it takes to break your stubborn will."  
Thrawn's expression darkened.  
"I thought you'd say like that."  
"Did you, now?"  
Zaarin indicated the droid to come nearer and it slowly hovered to his side.  
An arm came out and the droid administered Thrawn an injection.  
"That's a stimulator," Zaarin explained, "it will keep you from loosing conciousness  
too fast."  
He turned back to the droid.  
"Electric shock treatment. Start with level B, we'll increase it slowly."  
The droid gave some acknoledging beeps and a new arm appeared, covered with long,  
thin needles. The droid began his cruel work.  
  
While the droid tortured Thrawn with more and more powerful electric shocks, Zaarin  
looked closely at his prisoner. Amused, he noticed as the Grand Admiral tried to suppress  
the pain. He succeeded not all that well.  
Thrawns painful screams were music in Zaarin's ears.  
Despite the stimulator Thrawn lost conciousness more than once and Zaarin took great  
pleasure in bringing his prisoner back everytime himself.  
  
  
  
When they finally freed him of the binders, Thrawn was far to weak to stand on his feet.  
Zaarin let him lay on the floor for some time before kneeling down next to him.  
"Congratulations, Thrawn. You bared it far longer than I had hoped you would. This  
really promises to become very interesting."  
Thrawn only groaned in pain. Zaarin laughed coldly and called for the guards to carry Thrawn  
back to his cell.  
  
TBC...  
  
  
That's it! Any comments?  
  
I think the next chapter will have more of Parck and the traitor Bren in it...  
  
Please review, I depend on it. 


	3. Desperation

Hello folks!  
  
  
I wrote an very exhausting exam yesterday. But it went well, so I decided to spend  
my free time writing the next chapter! It get used to it by now!  
  
  
Now for my reviwing friends:  
  
SilverWolf: Thanks again for the review (did you get my e-mail?)!  
I'm glad you like it.  
(As I said before I won't tell the end right now, though I have it  
all in my head. Just this: You have to go through a litte more.)  
  
Crystal: Thanks for putting my humble little piece of work on your favorite-list.  
You're the first to ever do this!!!  
  
  
  
  
Of course a warm thank you to everyone who is still with me!  
  
All right, so far nobody wanted me to alter/change things, so I keep on as intended.  
Hope you like it.  
  
  
The story continues... NOW!  
  
  
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"  
  
From Caius Iulius  
  
  
Chapter 3: Desperation  
  
Finally, Thrawn was alone. Now he had time to think - more than he wanted to.  
But concentrating was difficult. The after-effects of the long torture were too  
painful.  
He had to reach Parck. Somehow.  
He knew already in which part of the ship he was - clearly an advantage.  
If he was able to get into the near emergency-comm-room and send a message...  
Maybe not everything was lost, yet.  
But how was he to accomplish that?  
The troopers hadn't seen it fit to bind him as they had dragged him back to his  
cell. If they decided to be that careless again, he would get the one chance  
he needed. IF he was still able to do it, then.  
  
  
  
Zaarin still sat at his desk and watched the holos the droid had made of Thrawn's  
torture. His prisoner's mind was nothing to break easily. Zaarin had known  
that before. But finally he would succeed. And then he would kill Thrawn.  
Or...  
A new thought entered his mind and a cruel smile played around his lips.  
It didn't matter how long he torured Thrawn. His execution would mark the end.  
The fun would be over.  
Unless he didn't execute him at all.  
To let him LIVE was so much more painful than death - however slow and cruel it  
might be.  
Once Thrawn's mind was finally broken, he would let him live...  
as his - Zaarin's - personal slave.  
Yes, that was fitting for that inferior alien.  
He laughed aloud.  
  
After he had controled himself again, he began to think about what to do with  
Thrawn next.  
The thought of his beloathed enemy beeing locked safely away inside this very ship  
made him feel satisfied.  
There were many ways of torment and Zaarin had all the time in the world to try  
every single one on Thrawn.  
Maybe he should test how that despicable blue skin reacted on red-hot metal?  
  
  
  
Captain Voss Parck was more than concerned.  
Since he had been notified Thrawn wasn't aboard anymore, a whole day had passed and still  
he didn't have a clue were the admiral might be.  
A shuttle was missing, too, two pilots as well.  
Everything obviously led to the thought Thrawn had left the "Grey Wolf" on his own -  
maybe for some secret mission - without seeing it fit to inform his captain.  
  
Parck simply couldn't believe this. Thrawn wasn't only his superior but his longlime  
friend. He was convinced the admiral would have left some sort of message, IF he really  
had gone for a mission alone.  
  
But the facts were only too clear. No signs of infiltration from outside the ship.  
That was what Parck had looked for first.  
No ship, neither fighter nor freighter, had left the "Grey Wolf" without permission.  
And none had landed.  
But one shuttle - the missing one - had indeed left during the night of Thrawn's  
disappearence.  
Parck was lost in thoughts when his comm-officer called for him.  
  
"Sir, a message from flight 3."  
Parck went to the officer's station.  
Flight 3 was one of the reconaissance ships he had send to find the missing shuttle.  
"This is captain Parck," he identified himself, "what do you have?"  
"Sir, this is flight 3..." the pilot hesitated.  
Parck began to loose his patience.  
"Did you find something, flight 3, or not?"  
"Well, yes, sir. I found the shuttle... what's left of it. It seems it exploded after  
re-entering sub-space. No escape pods or life signs in the area."  
The captain just stared in silence. No, it could not be.  
"Are you absolutely sure about this, flight 3?"  
"Yes, sir. The computer identifies the debries perfectly well. It is from the missing  
shuttle."  
"All right. Collect some of it and return as fast as you can!"  
"Understood, sir! Flight 3 out."  
  
Slowly, Parck went back to the viewport.  
It MUST not be... But was there an other explanation?  
A missing Grand Admiral.  
One missing shuttle.  
Two missing pilots.  
Not a trace of enemy interventions...  
Despite those overwhelming indications Parck refused to accept the seemingly obvious  
truth. He had to keep on looking. He had to find other indications that showed  
Thrawn hadn't been inside that shuttle.  
But if not there... where else?  
  
  
  
The hot iron burned deep into the blue skin and left an ugly blue-black mark, similar  
to the others, which were all over Thrawn's back by now.  
  
Like the other day Zaarin was watching his prisoner closely.  
Thrawn still seemed to be exhausted from the previous torture, for his constitution  
became worse, rapidly. Maybe it wouldn't take as long as he had thought to break him?  
  
As the droid tortured its victim once again with the red-hot metal, Thrawn reacted only  
with a painfull groan.  
Zaarin mentioned the droid to stop and called the medic, who had been standing nearby,  
to check Thrawn's "health".  
  
The man looked at Zaarin and shook his head.  
"Sir, I strongly suggest you stop now. If you continue I cannot garanty his survival.  
It would at least take some days to restore him in the sick bay. If you want to avoid  
that - don't torture him any further."  
Zaarin thought about it for some time.  
That clearly wasn't what he had wanted to hear but what he less wanted was for Thrawn  
to die now.  
He sighed and told the guards to free the prisoner from the chains.  
He would continue tomorrow.  
  
  
  
The two stormtroopers dragged Thrawn out of the interrogation chamber onto the long  
walkway which led to his cell. No one was to be seen.  
When they were only a few steps away, Thrawn summoned all his strenghth and attacked.  
The troopers were caught completely off guard and that advantage was enough for Thrawn  
to overwhelm them. With difficulty, he dragged them behind himself into his cell.  
He hadn't feigned his exhaustion, though. In fact, he was only short of losing  
conciousness. But if he hadn't seemed more injured than he actually was, if Zaarin had tortured him any further, he had never got the chance to warn Parck.  
  
The first part of his plan had succeeded. Now followed the much more difficult one.  
Carefully, Thrawn creeped to the comm-room. It was late at night and he didn't expect  
to see anyone. Still, he wouldn't allow himself to be careless.  
He reached his destination undetected and slipped inside the dark room.  
  
He looked at the consoles - the access was of course denied. Not that this was really  
a problem. But he knew he would start an alarm as soon as he got into the system.  
He had to be absolutely sure what to send captain Parck. And most importantly: How.  
  
A simple messange surely would do its duty but then Zaarin would knew exactly what Thrawn  
had send. That had to be avoided at all costs.  
To code the message didn't make sense, either. Zaarin would find out anyway.  
One had to disguise it...  
An idea occurred to Thrawn. When he had been a cadet a long time age, he and his  
friends used to call each other with a slightly malfunctional comm-unit.  
Everyone not in the know had to think of the strange, undecodable messages as  
comm-malfunctions...  
  
If he was able to alter the frequency of this comm unit to make it look like interference   
he could probably fool Zaarin.  
But would Parck understand? Thrawn knew his friend and knew as well that he had to  
take that risk.  
He opened the maintanance lid and started to bridge the security codes.  
  
TBC...  
  
  
Are you not entertained? (Ok, I loved GLADIATOR!)  
  
So, what do you think? As always: REVIEW PLEASE!  
  
I'll post the naxt chapter soon and it would really help and motivate me  
if I knew there was someone reading this (let me know).  
  
Write an e-mail if you like (caius.julius@usa.net).  
  
  
Next chapter: Will Thrawn send the message and will it reach Parck?  
And what about the traitor Bren?  
(I think he's in the next one.)  
  
  
Caius Julius 


	4. The Message is Underway

Ok, here I am again!  
  
  
This one is slightly longer than the previous chapters. I hope you don't mind.  
(Of course you don't, do you?)  
  
This chapter is the last that's based on my old story-files (mentioned in Ch.1).  
It will probably take longer to write new stuff down, so be patient, please!  
Of course I WILL finish this story. Don't worry, I promise.  
  
  
I am very surprised and grateful that so many of you wonderful readers gave me  
the honor to review my story. (Yes, I think 6 is many!)  
  
To you six guys: You're the best, my motivation!  
(Hope you're still reading this)  
  
Robin: Well, I hope you like the following!  
As long as you like it I keep on writing.  
  
Vanessa: I hope I didn't overdo it! I'm not through with Thrawn, yet, you know...  
  
  
  
  
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the unknown fanficiton author who wrote  
the Thrawn-gets-abducted-by-Zaarin-story I mentioned in Chaper 1.   
(Must be a Thrawnatic like me...)  
That was what gave me the idea to write this one.  
Wherever you are: THANKS SO MUCH!  
(I'd really like to know what he/she thinks about my work...)  
  
  
So, enough of this for now, you guys want to know what's happening next I guess.  
  
  
Enjoy!  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
I am not George Lucas, nor Tim Zahn. Thus Star Wars isn't mine.  
(Sad, but true.)  
  
  
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"  
  
From Caius Julius  
  
  
Chapter 4: The Message is underway  
  
Inside the stern control center a screen began to light up, accompanied by a shrill  
alarm klaxon.  
The officer of the day did not believe his eyes. Who of all people was supposed to be  
in the emergency-comm-room at this hour?  
He activated his comlink.  
"Attention! Alert in sector B2! A stormtrooper-squad to the emergency-comm-romm at once!"  
  
  
  
Thrawn keyed the last characters in. Any moment now, the guards had to enter the room.  
He was a little surprised they had not, already.   
Finally, he pressed the last button. It didn't take long and he got an affirmation that his message was underway.  
A thin smile played around his lips. He had succeeded.  
  
Very abruptly, but not unexpected, the door opened, and four stormtroopers ran in,  
their riffles pointed at him.  
"Don't move!" one of them yelled. "Put your hands behind your head!"  
Thrawn did as he was told. Any resistance was fultile. Besides, he had reached his goal.  
A small victory, at least.  
The stormtrooper stopped. "That's the Grand Admiral!" He sounded startled.  
"Onto the floor! Lie down!"  
Only when Thrawn was laying on the floor, his hands behind his head, the stormtroopers  
came nearer.  
They tied his arms at the small of his back and pulled him onto his feet again.  
"What did you intend to do here?" the trooper asked with barely controlled anger.  
Thrawn raised an eyebrow.  
"What do you think a comm-room is for?" he replied in a sarcastic tone.  
The answer was a punch to his stomach.  
A butt hit his neck and everything went dark at once.  
  
  
  
Commander Himo Trolls entered the cell in which the stormtroopers guarded the still unconcious prisoner.  
After Trolls had given them a sign, they lifted Thrawn to his feet.  
The commander took a few steps towards his prisoner and slapped him a few times in the face.  
Finally, Thrawn came back to his senses.  
"What did you send?" Trolls asked even before Thrawn had regained full conciousness.  
"The message, what was its content? Tell me, now! We will know anyway."  
Thrawn smiled faintly.  
"I doubt that. You can try, of course."  
Trolls face became grim.  
"We'll see about this."  
He nodded towards one of the troopers and the man punched Thrawn hard into his stomach.  
Thrawn moaned and would have fallen to the floor if not for the guards.  
"Well?" Trolls said.  
"You can... beat me to death," Thrawn said, panting. "You won't... find out anything!"  
The trooper stroke him with his fist in the face.  
When Thrawn remained silent and Trolls once again nodded the trooper hit the prisoner  
several times hard in the abdomen.  
This time the guards let go of him and Thrawn fell to the floor.  
His tormentor started to kick him. Again and again.  
  
When he finally stopped, Trolls pulled Thrawn's head back, brutally.  
"Now, is there anything you want to tell me?"  
Thrawn's reply was drowned by his own groans.  
Trolls raised to his feet and took a few steps back.  
Two troopers knelt down and began to bind the prisoner.  
They fettled the hands with binders onto his back and tied ankles and knee joints with  
leather straps. Finally, they layed a chain around his neck and tied it to the other  
shackles.  
Moving became impossible, even if Thrawn had had the strenghth.  
  
Trolls turned to the cruelly treated and bound prisoner at his feet.  
"You'll have plenty of time to think, Thrawn. Maybe you want to tell Grand Admiral  
Zaarin about your message tomorrow. He won't be as patient as I've been, you know?"  
Thrawn didn't respond. Everything was a blur to him. The whole world seemed to  
spin inside his head. One of his eyebrows was split, a lot of blood came out of  
his mouth and nose. The pain inside his abdomen was so immense, he thought every  
single organ was smashed.  
Trolls laughed and gave him a mocking smile. Then he turned to the commanding stormtrooper.  
"Have two of your men guard him. I'll send a medic down here. After that you can leave him alone."  
He cast his eyes over Thrawn a last time and left the cell.  
  
Some minutes later the medic entered.  
It was the same man who had been present during Thrawn's previous torture.  
"Sergeant," he spoke to one trooper. "I don't think the prisoner will be much of a threat.  
You can leave now."  
"As you wish," the man replied and mentioned his comrade to follow him.  
  
Once the door had closed behind the troopers, Jonin Perolha - the medic - knelt down beside  
Thrawn. He opened his bag and took out an injector.  
Thrawn saw it and flinched immediately.  
"Calm down," Perolha kept on and on at him gently. "The serum will help you. It's  
far from beeing dangerous."  
But as he raised the injector to Thrawn's arm, he cramped even more.  
Perolha touched the prisoner gently on the shoulder and kept on trying to calm him down.  
Very slowly, Thrawn eased up and the medic administered the serum.   
Surprised, Thrawn noticed he felt indeed better. The big exhaustion seemed to leave him.  
He tried to catch the medic's eyes while the man was cleaning his facial wounds.  
"Why..." he asked almost to low to hear.  
Perolha mentioned him not to speak.  
"You shouldn't talk right now. Believe me: You'll need every bit of strenghth."  
He turned to Thrawn's back to take care of the injuries he had recieved during the last  
torture. Some of the wounds on his chest had become inflamed and he wanted to prevent other inflammations.  
The chain that led from the prisoner's neck to his hands didn't make his work any easier.  
Perolha noticed the bruises on Thrawn's wrists where the binders had cut deeply into the skin. He sighed.  
"You... you don't deserve this, sir," he said.  
Thrawn didn't believe his ears.  
"What... do you mean?" he asked faintly.  
"Well," Perolha replied hesitating. "To be treated like this." He mentioned to Thrawn's  
shackles.  
"Don't misunderstand me, admiral. You're the enemy. You are in command of the fleet  
that has orders to hunt us down. When it became known you had been taken prisoner, I  
was convinced Zaarin would have you executed. But this... I cannot understand.  
I see the need of a death sentence for a highranking enemy like you but these tortures  
do not fulfil a purpose. And they are unnecessesary cruel.  
Zaarin wants to brake your mind and to humiliate you, just to satisfy his personal desires.  
Our cause doesn't gain any advantage of this. On the contrary."  
Perolha stopped.  
"I'm doing more for you than I was told. He will you torture again - now, that you tried  
to escape. You won't be able to stand firm long, considering your present state of  
constitution. I just can't stand there and watch."  
He finished his work at Thrawn's back and turned to the chest. Those wounds were much easier  
to cure for the prisoner's hands were tied at his back.  
"I will be present when he... I'am to make sure you survive, that you don't recieve  
fatal injuries. If you want to live you've to summon all your strenghth left."  
He took a second injector out of his bag and tested its content.  
"You'll be able to sleep with this. I'am not allowed to administer any pain-killers  
but this does something similar. The end is the same."  
"Thanks," Thrawn whispered.  
Perolha nodded and injected the serum.  
Immediately, Thrawn noticed as everything around him began to spin. An overwhelming  
heavyness came over him and he welcomed the dark with open arms.  
  
  
  
"Sir?" the "Grey Wolf"'s communcations-officer called. "Commander Bren?"  
Bren walked over to the young man.  
"What is it Lieutenant? I hope it justifies your... unpatient behavior."  
Lieutenant Maroon swallowed.  
"Yes, sir. We've recieved a message, better: an interference."  
Bren frowned.  
"An interference? What is that supposed to mean, Lieutenant? How can an interference  
be directed to us?"  
Maroon hesitated.  
"Well, it seems to be one, maybe parts of a message to a nearby star system. But...  
it looks as if it was ment for the "Grey Wolf"."  
"Well, then bring it onto the screen!" Bren ordered.  
The Lieutenant pressad a few buttons and soon an incomprehensable flood of characters  
and signs appeared on the screen.  
"The source of this 'message'?" Bren asked, still frowning.  
"Somewhere in the Orias-system, sir."  
Bren hesitated. "There are no imperial ships in this system, are there?"  
"No, sir."  
"Was the computer able to read the message?"  
"No, sir. It's no code, at least no known code. Like I said: an interference, strangely  
directed to us."  
Bren looked at the signs on the screen.  
"Well, if the computer can't decode it its useless. I think we can delete it without  
any danger."  
"All right, sir."  
Maroon keyed in an order.  
"Finished, sir. The interference has been deleted."  
Bren smiled. "Very good, Lieutenant!"  
He left the comm-station, nodded to Commander Jovis - the First Officer - and left the  
bridge.  
  
Captain Parck, who had been secretly watching the converstion from the viewport, went to Lieutenant Maroon.  
"And, Lieutenant?"  
"Order carried out, Captain. He thinks I've deleted the messsage."  
Parck's face showed a grim smile.  
"Very good. That has to remain that way."  
"I'll take care of it, sir."  
  
Parck left the Lieutenant at his station and went to the bridge's main viewport.  
Commander Jovis stepped at his side rather casualy.  
"Shall I have him arrested?"  
Parck stared out to the stars.  
"No, not yet. He may tell Zaarin we have no evidence and no suspicion. No, on the  
contrary: Bren is very important to us.  
We will have finished our resuply in a few days. Hopefully by then we will have  
decoded Thrawn's massege completely.  
Lt. Commander Bren has to believe we are to go to Brentaal IV. If we'd eliminate him  
now, Zaarin might know what we're up to and disappears. We'd never find the Grand Admiral.  
No, Bren has to remain free and report to Zaarin."  
  
Jovin nodded, approving.  
"Understood, sir. It was wise to order the comm-personnel to report any strange  
occurences to you only."  
"It was a precaution which proved to be quite useful. I didn't believe in this  
shuttle accident from the start. But I'd never guessed one of Zaarin's spies was  
right under my nose. If the Grand Admiral hadn't send this message..."  
Jovin snorted scornful.  
"At least now we know how Zaarin had always been able to avoid our grasp.  
The only question is: Is the Grand Admiral still alive?"  
Parck looked his First Officer into the eyes.  
"I hope so."  
  
  
TBC...  
  
  
  
Uff, that was much work!  
  
I hope you liked it. And as always: If there's anything you want me to alter,  
anything that doesn't fit in... TELL ME!  
  
So much for now.  
  
Caius Julius  



	5. Zaarin's Reply

Yoho!  
  
Wow! This one was really hard, especially the beginning. Somewhat... odd!  
Hope you like it, though.  
It has a lot of violence in it; physical, mostly.  
  
Romashka:Glad to hear you're still with me. And thanks for the info.  
  
SilverWolf:He, he! I intented to thrill you with that scene! First I thought  
of a cliffhanger but you know, I couldn't be that hard...  
Enjoy the next part!  
  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
Of course, Star Wars was developed by George Lucas and Thrawn came out of Timothy Zahn's head, Parck too.  
The other characters were given their life by me! (He, he!!!)  
  
I used a bit of another writer's story for this chapter.  
VANGUARD, a fellow FFN-author, wrote in her story "Beginning End" about Thrawn's last  
command aboard a chiss ship. I highly recommend you read it (and maybe review as well, for  
there have not been many reviews, yet...)  
Anyway, I emailed to Vanguard and together we came up with some of Thrawn's history  
mentioned in this very chapter you are about to read (very small ones).  
Vanguard said she wanted to write a story about these parts sooner or later...  
  
Well, I'm done!  
  
  
Now straight to:  
  
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"  
  
From Caius Julius  
  
  
Chapter 5: Zaarin's reply  
  
  
When Thrawn came back to his senses he half expected his captors had brought him back  
to the interrogation chamber. Instead he was in his cell. Alone.  
He didn't know how long he had been unconcious - maybe a few hours.  
His throat was dry and he still had the taste of blood in his mouth; he swallowed a  
few times to get rid of it.  
Carefully, he tried to move a bit but gave the attempt up at once. The pain in his muscels  
only increased.  
  
What about his massage? Had Parck recieved it, did he know how to use it?  
Thrawn could only hope so. If not, Zaarin was very close to victory - too close.  
But this was beyond Thrawn's reach. Zaarin would make sure his prisoner didn't get a chance to escape again.  
Thrawn sighed and tried to focus his thoughts on another subject.  
Parck. Despite his pain Thrawn couldn't help smiling as he thought of the day he had first met the then-Captain of the VSD "Strikefast".  
  
Parck had freed him of his exile, a captivity with a whole planet as a prison.  
Thrawn closed his eyes. Again, his thoughts drifted towards a point he wanted to avoid.  
  
He tried not to think at all but didn't succeed. His view was captured by the wall in front  
of him. Memories flashed through his mind. He had been locked away in an imperial  
prison before. That had been at a time when he obviously had provoked the wrong party  
inside the Emperor's inner circle.  
Then, his enemies, too, had token great pleasure in laying him in chains. But he had  
known all the time that there was no real threat to him.  
Today, it was a completely different matter...  
  
No! He had managed to come across his present serious problems again!  
Slightly, he shook his head, ignoring his aching body.  
The last time - the only time - he had felt this helpless had been after his arrest through  
the Ruling Families.  
They had brought him back to homeworld as a prisoner on his own ship - and then had court-martialed him. Better: They had put a sentence on him.  
He had been informed about the sentence itself in his cell a few hours afterwarts.  
It had been a death-sentence.  
He sneered as he remembered that particular day.  
  
They did not dare to take me to court personally. Out of fear I could talk my way  
out of it. Cowards!  
  
He had been reprieved to exile - obviously the Ruling Families hadn't dared to kill him,  
either. But they had humiliated him. The whole journey to his place of exile they had  
had him tied up and locked away. Only after the arrival on the planet they had removed the binders.  
  
At least I've had the hope to escape someday, Thrawn thought with an ironic smile.  
Now there was only death... or worse.  
  
The sound of the opening door interrupted his thoughts.  
A soldier entered the cell.  
He knelt down in front of Thrawn. In his hands he held some foot.  
"If you promise not to cause any trouble, you can eat yourself. I do not want to feed you -  
and trust me: you wouldn't want that either."  
Thrawn looked up to him and nodded faintly.  
The soldier opened his binders and the chain around Thrawn's neck.  
"Don't do anything stupid!" The man gave him a meagre but welcomed meal.  
Grateful, Thrawn rubbed his wrists and began to eat.  
  
When he was done, the soldier tied him again and left without a further word.  
  
  
  
As the hours passed, Thrawn tried to sleep or take some rest but was not able to.  
Too much pain, too much to think about. Although he knew he could do absolutely nothing.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, stormtroopers opened the door to his cell and entered.  
Thrawn had waited for them for hours now.  
They freed him of his binders and led him out of the room.  
  
Inside the interrogation chamber, Zaarin was already waiting for his prisoner.  
He gave Thrawn a wolfish smile as the troopers tied him onto a metal desk.  
Zaarin scrutinized him for some time before addressing him.  
  
"I underestimated you, I have to admit. My men tried everything to decode your strange  
message - in vain.  
It seems to be an interference, but I don't believe that, you know? You're way to clever  
to be stopped by a broken comm-unit."  
He paused but continued when Thrawn didn't reply.  
"However, I got word from our friend, Lt. Commander Bren, a few hours ago.  
Believe it or not, the "Grey Wolf" did revieve a message - disguised as an interference...  
Really, I can't help congratulating you. But whatever it has been you wanted to tell  
your captain, he'll never know. Fortunately, it had been Bren who accepted the message.  
As you can think, he made sure it was deleted from the computer - unopened."  
  
Thrawn tried to keep his face as cool as possible. It could not be. If it was true, Zaarin  
had as good as won. No, he mustn't give up now! Maybe Zaarin just bluffed to bring him  
out of his shell.  
  
Zaarin laughed coldly.  
"You're probably wondering if I'm telling you the truth, don't you? Well, what you've just  
heard was what Bren told me. On the other hand I'm not quite convinced your beloved captain didn't notice anything."  
He shrugged.  
"Anyway, he will know for sure only too soon. I'll send him something that will erase  
all doubts."  
With a careless gesture he mentioned Perolha, who had been standing next to the door,  
to step forward.  
The medic took out an injector and took some blood off Thrawn. He gave it to Zaarin, who  
held it right in front of Thrawn's face.  
"I'll send your friend Parck some little proofs, you know. Three, to be true."  
Thrawn still didn't reply and Zaarin snorted disdainfully.  
"You see, your blood is one part of it. But the captain will not be convinced that easy.  
Therefor," he winked at two medi-droids, "I need two other things from you. These droids  
here are better suited for this than me."  
  
A stormtrooper next to Thrawn pulled out a knife.  
Thrawn clenched his teeth but the soldier just cut through his left trouser leg.  
Afterwards, the trooper took out a thin but strong ribbon and tied it around his leg  
just above the left knee.  
Thrawn slowly felt his leg go numb.  
One of the droids put a scalpel onto his skin and made a deep, long cut through the flesh  
above the prisoner's shin. With a seconed arm the droid kept the wound from closing.  
Sharp pain ached through his entire leg and Thrawn closed his eyes to fight the agony.  
  
The second droid moved closer and produced a small, mechanic saw. It drove it right into  
the wound.  
  
Zaarin told the droids to halt.  
He bent to Thrawn, who still tried to suppress the pain.  
"The droid will now take a small part of your shine-bone out. We'll kill two birds with  
one stone: The bone is proof No.2 and you no longer will be able to cause any real  
trouble again - like another escape, you know?"  
"Fascinating inded," Thrawn remarked through clenched teeth.  
"Isn't it?" Zaarin replied and mentioned thed droids to continue.  
  
This new pain overwhelmed Thrawn. He teared at his restraints, he screamed;  
the sound of the fast-spinneng saw blade burned itself into his head.  
  
When the droids had finished their crule work, they closed the wound and sealed it.  
The bloody bone they laid in an alcohol-filled container.  
  
Again, Zaarin scrutinized his prisoner with a satisfied smile.  
Thrawn's face was contorted with agony and he breathed panting.  
  
"And now, my friend, we'll come to the last part. I'll explain it to you first.  
The blood and bone your captain will no doubt identify as beeing yours, but only after  
a rather long laboratory-analysis.  
What I want is - well, you know me - somewhat more direct, more shocking.  
What do you think is it he will immediately connect with you?"  
He waited for Thrawn's answer, which never came.  
  
"These two droids will remove a small part of your blue skin. As you can imagine,  
that will be somewhat painful."  
He laughed an signaled the droids to begin.  
  
The scalpel-droid bent over Thrawn's abdomen and cut a rectangle into the skin above  
the prisoner's stomach.  
The other droid produced a few small claw arms. With them it gripped at one of the cuts.  
The claws were red-hot.  
Thrawn winced and braced himself against the binders as the driod slowly began to pull  
the enclosed part of the skin.  
  
Infront of his eyes stars seemed to explode. One more time his painful groans could be  
heard inside the chamber. He struggled hard and was rewarded with a electric shock  
against his temple. His muscels crumped and resistance became impossible.  
  
In spite of its victim's screams the droid kept pulling at the bloody skin until  
it finally detached.  
  
Interested, Zaarin inspected the newest wound on Thrawn's abdomen.  
He called for the medic and the man stopped the bleeding with some bandages.  
Thrawn's face was a mask of pure agony. His breathing was heavy and he himself very  
close to conciousness.  
Zaarin bent down to him closely.  
"I'd really like to see your captain's face when he opens his present, wouldn't you?"  
He laughed.  
After a while he sent everyone out and was still laughing when he himself left  
the unfortunate prisoner alone with his pain.  
  
TBC...  
  
  
  
Well, I nearly fainted myself when I wrote this!  
Ugh!  
  
What do you say? Review, please!  
I'll answer any questions as long as they don't spoil anything big - that's a promise!  
All you have to do is ask!  
  
  
Next to come:  
Parck and Bren (will Parck finally act?)  
  
I do intend to put more plot into it - no joke!  
  
'Til next time!  
  
  
Caius Julius  
  



	6. The Package

Hello folks!  
  
  
Hew! I'm sorry, this one's rather short. I haven't had much time recently, you know.  
Today, I wrote a very difficult math exam and I have two more like this one on  
monday and tuesday! ARRGGGHHHH!!!  
I'm surprised I even found time for this chapter!  
  
Well, like I said, it's short, but I like it very much! It takes the plot further  
to the end. (No, this is NOT the end itself!!!)  
I really tried hard with this one. I just hope you appreciate it.  
As always, please review!  
  
  
Now to my kind reviewers:  
  
Elisabeth RouseauWell said! I can only agree! (He, he!)   
Hope you stay tuned with this one.  
Who's your favorite HP character, btw?  
  
SilverWolfThank you very much! I think highly of your comments.  
In your email (some time ago) you asked if I wanted you to  
review every chapter...  
You don't have to, of course, but it is such a motivation to  
know you liked (or disliked) the newest chapter, you know.  
Hope you enjoy this one, too.  
  
  
ANOUNCEMENT:  
  
BTW, we're near reviewer No. 10! I'm afraid it will take some time until I post  
the next chapter (due to my kind teachers...)  
So I deciced to reward reviewers 10 and 11 with a sneak preview of the next chapter.  
How does that sound?  
  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
Ok, alright! I admit it! STAR WARS IS MINE! IT'S ME, GEORGE! AND TIMOTHY AS WELL!  
  
(If you believed this you should jump out of the next window!)  
  
  
Finally, we can go to the story (this was longer than the chapter itself I fear!)  
  
  
So, here we go again:  
  
  
"INTO ENEMY HANDS"  
  
From Caius Julius  
  
  
Chapter 6: The Package  
  
  
"Captain, we've finally succeeded decoding the message."  
Commander Jovis handed Captain Parck a datapad.  
Parck smiled and took it. The smile broadened as he read.  
  
"Hm... Thrawn's not onboard Zaarin's flagship but on a frigate. Interesting.  
That should make it much less difficult-"  
  
The beep from his comm-terminal interrupted the Captain.  
He sighed and reached for the correct button.  
"This is Parck, what is it?"  
"Sir," the nervous voice of Lieutenant Maroon explained, "A small, unmanned ship has  
just entered the system. It sends an automated message. It seems to have some  
kind of package to deliver."  
  
Parck hesitated and looked at his First Officer.  
Jovis shrugged. He did not know what this was about, either.  
  
"Take it aboard, Lieutenant! Inform me as soon as you know what it is."  
"Understood."  
  
Parck turned to Jovis, frowning.  
"And what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
  
  
Half an hour later the strange little ship was safely inside the "Grey Wolf"'s  
hangar bay. The only thing it had aboard was a small crate.  
Very thorough examinations made clear it wasn't a bomb or anything dangerous.  
Parck wasn't sad to hear that.  
  
Now the crate was laying on his desk; Commander Jovis had a close look on it.  
"You really want to open it, Sir?" he asked uncertainly.  
"Well, it is ment for us; it is no bomb - I hope - what would YOU do?" Parck replied.  
Jovis raised his hands defensively.  
"Let's open it, Captain!"  
Parck nodded and touched at a button on the crate.  
  
Inside was an even smaller, sealed box.  
Jovis lifted an eyebrow. "And what is that?"  
Parck gave no answer but lifted the box out of the crate onto his desk.  
Very carefully, he pressed a key.  
  
There was a hiss of escaping air and the cover was drawn back.  
  
Parck's curiosity immediately changed into pure horror once he saw the box' contents.  
  
"Sir? Is everything alright?" Jovis, who did not see what was inside rushed to Parck's side.  
"What is in-" He stopped abruptly.  
  
"The bastard. He will pay for this!" Parck whispered.  
Disgusted, he turned away from the box and closed it.  
  
He pressed a button on his console.  
"Sick bay? I want you to... examine something. As soon as possible."  
"Yes, Sir. We'll send someone immediately."  
  
"Do you think he... he's already been dead when they..." Jovis stammered.  
Parck just stared. "I... don't know. The medics will have to find out."  
"Shall I set a course for Orias, then, Sir?" Jovis asked.  
Parck hesitated. "No. Not yet."  
"But Sir!" the Commander protested.  
Parck raised a hand.  
"I know, Commander. With every passing moment the possibility to find the Grand Admiral  
alive decreases. But if we act hasty now, out of revenge, we'll play into Zaarin's hands.  
Thrawn's message was clever - but to think Zaarin hasn't noticed anything would  
certainly proof foolish and disastrous.  
He's not certain how much we know - despite his deception with Bren. Hence this very  
special package.  
I'm sure Bren, this traitor, is only waiting for our jumping to lightspeed. That would  
be the proof that we know Zaarin's whereabouts.  
He will jump himself and is long gone when we finally arrive at the Orias-system.  
I think I don't need to tell you what this would mean for the Grand Admiral, do I?"  
Jovis shook his head.  
"I understand perfectly well, Sir. But if we'd had Bren secretly arrested...  
He'd never get a chance to notify Zaarin."  
Parck smiled sadly.  
"How do we know he's Zaarin's only source here? Even if he was, our sudden jump to  
lightspeed would speak for itself. We have to act as if we'd just learned through this...  
this package... that Thrawn is Zaarin's prisoner. And this means we do not know Zaarin's at Orias, officially."  
He sighed.  
  
Jovis looked questioning at him. "And WHAT do you want to do?"  
As an answer, Parck activated his comm-link.  
"This is Captain Parck. All command personnel into my office."  
He keyed it off and turned to Jovis.  
  
"Remember, Commander, Bren MUSTN'T notice we know about Zaarin's plans.  
I know it's hard but treat him like every other loyal imperial officer.  
He'll suggest we contact High Command, I'm sure. And that is what we are going to do.  
Also, we should agree with everything else he comes up with - at least as long until we  
can set out for Orias."  
  
Jovis frowned. "How long do you think this will take?"  
Parck stared out to the stars. It almost teared him apart. He knew he'd probably  
sign Thrawn's death sentence with his decision but it was the only way if he wanted  
to stop Zaarin. Parck was sure Thrawn would never appreciate a hasty rescue attempt.  
As hard as it was for the Captain to put his friend's life at risk - if he was still  
alife at all, that is - Thrawn's rescue was only secondary. The main goal was Zaarin.  
  
"Sir?" Joves asked again.  
Parck straightened his shoulders.  
"A few days, not more."  
  
  
TBC...  
  
  
Ok, that's all for now!  
Like I said above, it will be some time until Ch.7 is out.  
(At ease, we're not talking about months, not even several weeks...)  
Just be patient!  
And thanks to everyone who is still with me!  
  
Next chapter: We return to Thrawn and Zaarin...  
  
  
Caius Julius 


	7. The Mission Begins

Yoho! Here I am!  
  
I got through this chapter sooner than I thought - the sooner the better.  
  
A 'Thank You!' to everybody who is still with me.  
(At least one is, eh SilverWolf?)  
  
So, this one is for my most frequent reviewer. I was glad you liked the  
preview. I managed to put all parts into this chapter.  
They should fit in just fine (or so I hope).  
  
Alright, let's get on with the show!!!  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
Sadly, I do not get money for this.  
I didn't try it on animals.  
  
Oh, and of course, I'm not the inventor of Star Wars - as if you didn't know...  
  
  
  
INTO ENEMY HANDS  
  
From: caius julius  
  
  
Chapter 7: The Mission Begins  
  
  
Thrawn had lost any sense of time. Had it been hours since the last torture?  
Or even days? Maybe just minutes... He couldn't tell.  
Pain, exhaustion and the uncernity about what had happened in the meantime had  
clearly left their marks on him.  
He knew he needed rest badly, but everytime he closed his eyes to get some sort of  
sleep, the same cruel scenes were playing inside his head. He heard himself scream,  
saw the droids as they cut into his flesh...  
He immediately opened his eyes again and dismissed any thoughts of sleep.  
But still, there was this roar in his ears, he heard the sound of the saw blade all over  
again and the bright light ached in his eyes.  
  
  
  
Zaarin stepped into the interrogation chamber, a cold smile on his lips.  
Everything was still as he had left it. Thrawn's blood, which covered a not too minor  
part of the floor, was dry by now. Its metallic scent still hung in the air.  
The Grand Admiral himself lay bound tightly on the desk and groaned faintly.  
  
Slowly, Zaarin approached his prisoner. Once he was standing next to him  
he watched him closely and with great interest. Blood seemed to leak out through the  
bandages, older injuries had produced inflammations - painful ones, Zaarin hoped.  
  
He was completely alone with the prisoner and the thought of it stimulated him immensely.  
Even more so, since Thrawn lay helplessly at his mercy in front of him.  
What a temptation.  
No medic to tell him to stop, no droids to do the dirty work. Only him.  
  
He let his hand sofly glide dowm Thranw's leg to the point where the bandage dyed red.  
Smiling cruelly at Thrawn, he pressed his fingers agains the wound.  
Thrawn groaned painfully.  
"Does it hurt?" Zaarin asked sardonicly and pressed even harder.  
When he pulled his hand back he felt warm red blood on his fingers and wiped it off  
on Thrawn's already blood-stained trousers.  
"I really should talk to the medics."  
He laughed and took out a datapad. After pressing a few keys he held it in front of  
Thrawn's eyes.  
"Read this; it's from our friend, Lt. Commander Bren."  
  
Reluctantly, Thrawn directed his gaze towards the screen.  
Bren reported the Captain - Parck - had reacted to Zaarin's package completely puzzled  
and surprised. Parck had immediately ordered an emergency-conference.  
He had even contacted High Command. According to Bren, Parck told him he counted on  
HC to call them back within the next days. Probably to a naval base near the Core.  
  
"You know what this means, don't you?" Zaarin asked with exaggerated politeness.  
"It seems all your efforts have been in vain. Your Captain has no idea where we are.  
He won't come to rescue you, or to finish me off."  
He waited a few seconds and smiled amused as Thrawn vainly tried to hide his horror.  
"I am the winner." Zaarin said simply.  
  
He pulled a knife from his belt.  
"Unfortunately, I have to leave the "Shamus" for a while - some matters need my immedtiate  
attention, you see. But I leave you a parting gift."  
He held the knife to Thrawn's face and sliced a lond cut crossways his right cheek.  
Thrawn didn't move a muscle as blood went down his face.  
  
Amused, Zaarin put the knife on under Thrawn's chin and let it slowly and dangerously  
glide down his throat and chest, every now and then cutting into his flesh not too deeply.  
He stopped at the bandage over Thrawn's stomach.  
Sadisdicly, he grinned at his prisoner, who stared contemptuously at the ceiling.  
Zaarin positioned the knife to a certain place on the bandage and carefully let it glide  
into the stomach.  
Thrawn's eyes widened as the sharp pain ached through his body.  
"Don't worry," Zaarin said with a soft voice. "this won't kill you. I had enough chances  
to fathom your anatomy during the last days. It will hurt a lot, though - that's what it  
is ment for, you know; to keep you occupied while I'm gone."  
  
He activated his commlink. "Sickbay, I need a medic-team with a stretcher at the interrogation  
chamber. It's urgend."  
"Understood, Admiral."  
  
Once more, Zaarin smiled at Thrawn and pulled the knife out of the wound. The bandage dyed even  
redder. Thrawn couldn't hide the pain from his face any more; he panted and coughed.  
After the last torture he was sure it couln't get any worse - well, Zaarin had proved him wrong.  
A small thread of blood went out of his mouth.  
  
Minutes later the medics arrived. They opend Thrawn's binders and lifted him onto the stretcher.  
"Sergeant," Zaarin addressed one of the medics. "I want you to give the prisoner as least  
sedative as possible. Just make sure he survives."  
The medic nodded. "Yes, Sir!" After that they carried Thrawn out of the room.  
He didn't notice any of it. Soon after Zaarin had pulled out the knfe he had lost conciousness  
and drifted towards sweet darkness.  
  
  
  
Voss Parck stared out to the stars - he did that a lot lately.  
  
Four days - High Command had waited four whole days until they finally had ordered  
them back. An eternity.  
The Captain slightly shook his head. He could only hope the "Shamus" was still in the  
Orias-System. If not... he didn't dare to think of that.  
A part of him desperately wanted to believe Thrawn was still alive, but he knew the  
chances were very low. If only he had watched his officers closer, if only he had  
ordered that every shuttle launch was to be reported to him first, if only...  
He grimaced and burried his face in one hand. No, this didn't gain him anything.  
He had to keep his mind together. He had to wait and see if Zaarin indeed was in the  
Orias-System.  
Shaking his head again he slowly breathed out. Only then he turned to his first officer  
standing a few steps behind him.  
"Commander, prepare to go to lightspeed!"  
Jovis gave him a grim smile. "Yes, Sir!"  
  
Minutes later the huge ship jumped.  
  
  
  
Bren smiled satisfied. That was it. Zaarin's plan had been successful.  
What a luck this comm-officer had asked him - Bren - about the message. He had known  
immediately that it was from Thrawn. Zaarin had pointed out there might be one.  
It seemed Thrawn had caused enough trouble on Zaarin's frigate to send a message  
to his flagship - or so Zaarin had tought. And it proved to be correct.  
Such a pity this fool Pack never knew what had happened.  
Now that Thrawn was gone - Bren was sure Zaarin had executed him by now - and with  
men like Parck: what was there to stop the mighty Grand Admiral Zaarin from  
overthrowing Palpatine and building his own Empire?  
Nothing.  
  
He didn't notice as Commander Jovis and two stormtroopers came nearer.  
"Lt. Commander Bren?" Jovis said and Bren flinched almost unnoticable.  
"Yes, Sir?" He turned to Jovis. Something was wrong, the expression on Jovis' face...  
"You are hereby arrested for treason. Your game is up!"  
Bren's surprise turned into an evil grin.  
"I see; I take it we're not going to a naval base, then? But that won't help you much.  
You're too late. Your precious Grand Admiral will be dead by now and even is he isn't -  
you don't think Zaarin is still in the Orias-system if this is where you're heading,  
do you, Jovis?"  
"On the contrary, Bren," Captain Parck said with barely controlled anger as he stepped  
at Jovis' side. "The "Shamus" will be there. Zaarin is far too self-confident.  
I'm convinced he even now laughs up his sleeve at the thought that we are not able to  
find him although he's been at the same place all the time.  
Let him laugh... as long as he's able to."  
Parck nodded to the stormtroopers and they led the traitor away.  
  
The Captain straightened his back and went to the viewport.  
He wished he was that confident in Zaarin's whereabouts as he had just told Bren.  
All this waiting teared at his nerves. He wondered if he had any left.  
  
  
  
Zaarin sat down on the co-pilot's seat and strapped on.  
"Alright, Lieutenant, let's go!" he told the pilot and soon afterwards, they took off.  
After the shuttle had left the hangar he cast a last look at the frigate.  
He'd be back in a few days. Thrawn had to wait.  
Zaarin smiled grimly while he thought of the Grand Admiral, who probably was being  
treated in sickbay this moment.  
The medics would patch him together. At least they'd prevent him from dieing.  
Zaarin was sure the immense pain Thrawn had to endure was enough to make him bend to Zaarin's  
will, ultimately.  
Maybe very soon.  
  
He laughed out loud and turned his thoughts to other important things - the further weakening  
of the Imperial Navy for emample...  
  
TBC...  
  
  
And again we're at the end of a chapter!  
Bren is out of the way,  
Parck finally jumped to Orias,  
but what about Zaarin?  
  
This will be revealed...  
later!  
  
And as always:  
  
Hope you liked it! (LET ME KNOW!!!)  
  
caius julius  



	8. Imperial Rescue

Here is it! The rescue (did I say too much?)  
  
I hope it's not too quick ot to roughly done.  
  
SilerWolf:Thank you again for your kind review. As to your wish not to end this...  
you might want to read my afterthoughs at the end of this chapter  
(AFTER you read it, ok?)  
  
Robin:Well, well! I'm surprised! You like it although you're NOT a Thrawn-fan???  
I'm impressed! I am one, you know and I thought you only read stories like  
this if you're one. Oh my! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  
And thanks for appreciating my name!  
I had latin and greek in school, so ancient history is quite familiar to me.  
  
  
  
INTO ENEMY HANDS  
  
From: caius julius  
  
Chapter 8: Imperial Rescue  
  
  
Once more, Captain Parck read the reports of readiness of the "Grey Wolf"'s stations inside  
his rooms. Everything seemed prepared to deal with Zaarin's frigate. Though he had tried to  
bann any thought of Thrawn from his mind he returned to his friend's case more often than  
he wanted to.  
  
'Don't be a fool, Voss,' he thought. 'After all these days, how could you expect him  
to be still live?'  
But on the other side the medics had confirmed Thrawn had not been dead when Zaarin  
took the skin and bone from him. If this despicable traitor was arrogant enough to  
stay at the same location all the time and to wait with Thrawn's execution for so long -  
well, why should he do it right now?  
The longer Parck thought about it the more he became convinced Zaarin wouldn't kill the  
Grand Admiral that soon. He'd rather hold him prisoner for some time, teasing and probably  
tortuting him just for the fun of it.  
No, IF the "Shamus" was still at Orias then Thrawn was there, either.  
Thus convinced by his own thoughts Parck returned to the datapads.  
  
He hadn't come far with them when there was a knock on the door and Commander Jovis entered.  
Parck looked up and a thin smile cast around his lips.  
"Ah, good to see you, Commander." he held up some datacards.  
"I take it you read them as well?" he said and mentioned Jovis to take a seat.  
The Commander did so and nodded.  
"In my opinion we're perfectly prepared for a confrontation with the "Shamus"," he informed  
his Captain. "The only thing to hope is that Zaarin hasn't any other ships in the Orias-system.  
We have only Thrawn's word on it and our own scout-reports."  
Parck nodded slightly.  
"We've talked about that with HQ already. Zaarin's fleet is enganged nearly everywhere at  
the moment. Chances are high we'll only meet the "Shamus". He'll hardly have an Interdictor  
there, you know."  
Jovis grinned. "And the precious frigate will have its problems against an ISD II..."  
  
  
  
When the Star Destroyer entered realspace again, the "Shamus"'s Crew thought it to be  
Zaarin's flaggship, the ISD "Glory".  
Therfore, their shock was even greater when the Destroyer opened fire and the computer  
identified the ship as the "Grey Wolf". Before they could react properly, the frigate was  
surrounded by fighters and its shields were not far from failing.  
On the frigate's brigde reigned total chaos as it became clear that the hyperdrive never  
would be ready in time.  
  
Captain Bennet ran a hand through his hair and covered his face in the other.  
His ship was lost.  
To hell with Zaarin. Why hadn't he ordered to jump to another location? Why had he been so  
arrogant?  
Bennet shook his head. Too late now. The Empire had found them.  
"Sir?" a young officer called. "Sir, they ceased fire! They're hailing us."  
The Captain looked up. Of course! This was Thrawn's flaggship. The imperial Captain didn't  
seek to destroy the "Shamus".  
He activated his commlink. "Sickbay, this is Bennet. How's the prisoner's status?"  
"We were able to keep him alive." came the immediate answer. "His status is no longer critical."  
"Thank you." Bennet deactivated the comm.  
  
He turned to the officer and mentioned him to answer the call.  
"This is Captain Bennet of the frigate "Shamus"."  
The screen in front of him showed the "Grey Wolf"'s bridge.  
"Captain Parck," the man in front identified himself. "Captain Bennet, I want you to surrender  
immediately. You do not have a chance against a Star Destroyer!"  
Bennet hesitated. There was none, was there?  
Zaarin would never approve surrender, Bennet was sure of that.  
The Captain thought about the prisoner. Of course, Zaarin would want him executed right now.  
But his superior wasn't here. His arrogance had been the cause for their current situation in  
the first place.  
  
The Captain cleared his throat.  
"We surrender, Captain. No conditions."  
Parck nodded. "Very well. Where's Zaarin?"  
"He left the "Shamus" a few days ago. I don't know where he went, though."  
"And Grand Admiral Thrawn, is he..." Parck stopped and Bennet saw how much that question must  
hurt him.  
"He's alive; he's momentarily in sickbay."  
Parck didn't even try to hide his relief.  
"Very well, Captain. We'll send boarding parties. Hold your current position and don't do  
anything stupid. Parck out."  
  
Bennet ordered the comm-officer to shut down and fell back into his commandchair.  
Suddenly he felt very tired and exhausted.  
So, that was it. The only thing left to do was damage containment.  
Once again, he activated his commlink.  
"Sickbay, this is Bennet. Prepare the prisoner... Grand Admiral Thrawn," he corrected himself,  
"for transportation. Imperial boarding parties will arrive soon."  
"Understood, Captain." came the confirmation and the comm went silent.  
  
Commander Trolls stepped to Bennet's side. His face was full of barely controlled anger and wrath.  
"Sir, what in hell are you doing? Have the prisoner executed as long as there's time for it!  
Once the Imps have him back everything's been in vain. You have to-"  
"Commander!" Bennets voice was low but the more dangerous. "You don't have to tell me ANYTHING!  
I am in command here and as you might have noticed: the Grand Admiral is our only chance if  
we don't want end up being executed ourselfs."  
That didn't seem to calm Trolls down, not at all.  
"Grand Admiral Zaarin would never-"  
Bennet cut him off, again.  
"First: Zaarin's not here, and second: it was him who did this mess to us. Who knows what this  
Captain Parck does if we kill Thrawn now. Do you want to take the responsibility for the whole  
crew's death?"  
Trolls just snorted. "You're a fool, Bennet. I'll never understand why you joined Zaarin in  
the first place."  
He shot the Captain one last angry glance, turned around and left the bridge very quickly.  
  
  
  
Inside the sickbay, Jonin Perolha exchanged a look with his fellow medics.  
The Imperials had to arrive here any moment now. Only minutes ago an officer had reported the  
boarding parties had entered the ship.  
  
The medic looked at the former prisoner in front of him. Thrawn was fast asleep now.  
Soon after Bennet's order, Perolha had freed him of the bounds which confined him to bed.  
After that he had informed Thrawn of the "Grey Wolf"'s arrival and his newly won freedom.  
Thrawn had just stared back, astonished and grateful.  
Perolha had smiled at him and had administered several sedativa to make the transport more  
pleasent for him.  
  
When the door finally opened, Perolha was interrupted from his thoughts.  
Stormtroopers enterd the sickbay followd by two imperial medics.  
"How's the Grand Admiral's status?" one of them asked while the other examined Thrawn.  
Perolha sighed and showed them his notes.  
  
Some minutes later after the they made sure the Admiral was moveable, the imperial medics and  
their patient were back on their way to the Star Destroyer "Grey Wolf".  
  
  
TBC... (It's up to you!)  
  
  
Alright!  
Thrawn's save - finally!  
  
  
But that's not the end. Ok, the title says "Into Enemy Hands" and that is over but...  
Zaarin's still out there, Parck hasn't seen Thrawn, yet,...  
  
  
IT'S YOUR TURN!  
Tell me if you want me to continue.  
Like I said, my story as I planed it when posting the first chapter is over but I'd like to  
do some more - IF YOU WANT IT!  
  
  
Thus, tell me, will you?  
(Tell me to stop, if you like, but I want to know.)  
  
  
  
If that's the END, then a very warm THANK YOU to everyone who's read this fiction.  
  
And thanks for accepting my very 'special' kind of english,  
it's only my second foreign language...  
  
  
A VERY, VERY, VERY big hug to my reviewers throughout it:  
  
  
SilverWolf: I said it before, you're my most frequent one and I was so glad to have  
someone like you reading this fic and sending your comments and all.  
And you were reviewer NO. 1! I was so glad back then.  
  
Romashka: See, he's not dead (simply could't do it!) and I DID finish this one!  
HA!  
  
Robin: I am glad you liked it; I tried hard with this one, you know.  
Thanks, fellow Gladiator-fan!  
  
Vanessa: You said there weren't enough Thrawn-fics... well, now there's one more!  
(I won't say a good one, but I like it!)  
  
Elizabeth Rouseau: Thanks so much! Maybe I should try a Harry Potter-fic next time?  
  
Crystal: I said it before: So far the only one to add my fic to a favorites-list.  
I'm so proud!  
  



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